Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
"Ballots & Bullets" (TSR Module BH3) Concluded!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4086130" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Two-hundred-seventy-six, “Riding the Rails”, Wednesday, June 21st, 8:30 P.M.</strong> </p><p></p><p>Once they are all onboard Manuel pulls the door shut to the car. He then casts a Bluelight spell, illuminating the car interior with a faint light that is bright enough for them to see each other but will not cast light though the cracks in the boards and around the door to the outside. Kate comments, "I don't know much about freight cars. Can we still get to the passenger cars?" </p><p></p><p>Gonzalas stands up and walks over to the wall. He checks a clipboard that is hooked to the wall near the door and looks it over commenting "Hmm, all of the cargo in this car is bound for Philadelphia and is the middle of the five cars of this type. I'm assuming that Turner's casket is inside of one of these five green-painted cars, so the Scranton-bound goods must be in either one of the two cars ahead of us or one of the two behind us." </p><p></p><p>Kate replies, "So we can at least accomplish something back here. I had been thinking of trying to create some problem with the train so you could get your rest. I have the telegram if we could find someone who works for the railroad. But I suppose there isn't a way to make the tea here." Gonzales replies, "I have my brazier and a water-skin, but even with the tea I doubt I would be able to rest on a moving freight train going through the Pennsylvania mountains." </p><p></p><p>Kate says, "That's out then. Alright, let's search the cars and destroy Turner's resting place. I wish I knew if Turner's domination of Ruby would make her willing to rise as a vampire. It makes a huge difference. If it doesn't, then he'll want to wait until he's in a safe place before turning her since it would take her three days to come back. If it doesn't he could do it as soon as they're settled in Scranton. I would imagine dying would negate his control, but I can't be sure." </p><p></p><p>Gonzales points to a wooden ladder on the side wall leading up to a trapdoor in the roof. He states, "Unfortunately that is the only exit from this car while it is moving, other than the door on the side where we entered. I wish I had my Spider Climb spell, that would work to cling onto the train, but I did not take it today. I do have one more Levitate, I used one earlier when we got Ruby, but if somebody uses that they would have to maintain a firm grip to the train or risk being left behind floating in the air." </p><p></p><p>Kate says, “It's better than risking being thrown off the train altogether and making a hard landing on the ground. If Nanuet doesn't mind I'll take the levitate and check the two cars ahead of us. I don't think I can risk the fall; I'm sure you understand." Nanuet states, "Kate, I'm not sure if you're the best candidate to be climbing on the outside of moving train cars, no offense. I would rather go myself, but I won't insist if you are determined." </p><p></p><p>She looked embarrassed and relieved at the same time. "The idea didn't excite me much either. I just want to pull my own weight. I'll be glad to stay here and rest a bit." Gonzales says, "I have an idea Kate, you can follow us up the ladder and watch from the top of this car in case we run into trouble. Nanuet and I can tether ourselves with ropes and I can keep the levitate in reserve until needed." </p><p></p><p>The two elves take the lead and head topside, tying themselves together with ropes with the end ten feet on each going off and ending in a bowline knot that creates a loop that will not slip. They move forward hooking the first rope at the front of the current car. There is a five foot space between the tops of the two cars. They wait until the train reaches a straight section before attempting the leap across, Nanuet going first and Gonzales second. Both Elves are rather spry and make the leap without difficulty. </p><p></p><p>The open the trapdoor and climb down, Gonzales checking the manifest and confirming that freight car's cargo is also Philadelphia bound. They repeat the process with the first of the five green freight cars, discovering the same. They then make their way back, filling Kate in on their efforts. Nanuet says, "Well, we know the coffins are in one of the last two cars, lets go and take care of that. And we should be on our guard, in case he's got someone guarding them." </p><p></p><p>They find it easier to move back on the train then forward as the winds are in the favor of their jumping from car roof to car roof. The manifest on the fourth car shows the cargo designated to Allenstown, the scheduled stop between Scranton and Philadelphia. They head back to the final car. Even before checking the manifest and confirm that the cargo here is going to Scranton they see the long rectangular crate large enough to hold a casket inside of it. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet says, “Looks like this is it. Figures it would be in the last car. We had better be careful, in case he has someone guarding it." Nanuet and Gonzales cautiously approach the crate. Nanuet hears no sounds coming from it. The wooden lid of the crate appears to be just placed atop it rather than nailed on. The younger elf comments, "That's odd, it's not nailed shut. We must be cautious, should there be something hiding." </p><p></p><p>Nanuet approaches the crate slowly waiting for Gonzalez to do the same. He then pulls out a stake and gets in a spot along side the crate. He points to Gonzalez and motions for him to pull open the top of the crate. They remove the wooden pine lid to the crate. The underside of the lid has boards one inch from the edges to tightly keep it in place. Inside the crate is a nicely made casket identical to the one that was in the home of George Eastman's neighbor as well as the four that Father Harbrace and Nanuet had destroyed earlier in the week. In those earlier times Harbrace had taken the lead in the destruction of the creatures. </p><p></p><p>"Well, we know this one is related to him, now," Gonzales says matter-of-factly. "Ready?" he said and got his fingers under the lid to lift it. Gonzales lifts the lid. Before the lid is completely up a hand reaches up from inside the coffin and grabs the old wizard by the wrist. Instead of trying to pull his hand free, Manuel drops, letting the lid fall hard on the arm that reached out and hoping it would cause the creature to let go. </p><p></p><p>The creature maintains it's death grip on Gonzales's wrist, draining some of the life force from the old elvan wizard. His move to drop to the ground has the effect of hurling the creature up and out of the casket, pulled by the dropping man, and propelled by Nanuet before a stake can be applied but he sees enough to determine that it is not Colin Turner. As Manuel hits the ground the creature lands on top of him, continuing the life drain. </p><p></p><p>"Stake it!" Manuel screams as he manages to cast Magic Missles into it's hands where they are gripping him. Once the missiles fire he struggles to free himself from the creatures grip. Nanuet exclaims, "He's much faster than I thought!” Nanuet repositions himself to a spot where he can stake the vampire and attempts to do so." Aided by the 'True Strike' spell cast upon him the stake reaches its intended target and the vampire explodes into a cloud of dust. </p><p></p><p>Manuel sits up against some crates and nods his thanks to Nanuet. His breath comes hard and fast for a few moments. "That was my mistake," he admitted. "We could have destroyed that coffin by quite a few other, safer means. That creature did something to me, I'm afraid whatever travel we do from now on will have to be by mundane means." The old elf gets himself on his feet and says, "Let's destroy this thing and get back to Katherine. We should probably have a look through to make sure this is the only one as well. I didn't expect to find Turner's coffin occupied." </p><p></p><p>They find that the coffin contains a few inches of dirt on the bottom of it. There are dozens of other crates and boxes within this particular freight car but none large enough to hold a coffin. "Let's push this thing over near the door," Manuel says after they've made sure this was the only coffin. "We can dump the soil along the roadway, then send the box after it." Nanuet helps Gonzalez with the disposal of the crate. </p><p></p><p>By this time the train had left New York state and was entering the northeastern mountains of Pennsylvania. The begin to pour the dirt overboard and wait until the train is alongside a particularly steep cliffs to push the crate and casket out the door and down the mountain. It shatters into pieces on the way down. Gonzales feels a deep sense of satisfaction as the coffin disappears over the cliff. Gonzales is too weakened by the vampire to attempt to jump between train roofs, so has to use his final Levitate spell on himself and then tether himself to Nanuet. </p><p></p><p>He and Nanuet then climb back up through the trap door and make their way back to Katherine, who is waiting with anxious eyes. They explain what happened in the last car and break the news that they will have to go home by train. Kate shook her head and said, "No, we'll go to Philadelphia. We know the Archbishop there; he'll be able to heal this." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm just thankful you're not in the state I was after Jobin did that to me." </p><p></p><p>She sat down and leaned back. "I think we need to go back to our original plan. I'm sure we're all anxious to get Mrs. Parker back, but following them from the station is still the best plan we had. We shouldn't let our desires to finish this sooner lead us to more foolishness." The following two hours roll by, the three individuals and wolf resting as best they can on a bumpy railroad car through the mountains on a route parallel the Susquehanna River. At 11:00 PM the river turns from southeast to south towards Wilkes-Barre while the train turns right towards Scranton, now less than ten miles distant. </p><p></p><p>Despite her worry and frustration, the need for rest was even greater and Kate spent most of the two hours asleep against her teacher's shoulder. He woke her around 11:00 with the warning that they were nearing Scranton. She yawned and stretched, surprised for a moment to see the unfamiliar hands and body of the disguise she still wore. "We should get ready, then. There's one thing I'm afraid of, and I should have thought of it earlier. What if Turner has a carriage waiting? We won't be able to follow unless there's a cab at the station." Gonzales replies, "Then we improvise." </p><p></p><p>Kate nodded. "I guess that's about all we can do. At least if they notice us jumping out of the car we have tickets for the train. We just chose to ride somewhere unusual." Nanuet shakes out the stiffness of his body. Even needing less rest than humans, he was getting fatigued after chasing Turner across the country and now back again. "I believe this is the same spot where Father Harbrace and I were a few days ago. I know one of his previous hiding spots, which we destroyed. Since we were behind him he might not know it was tampered with and may head back that way." </p><p></p><p>The train pulls into the station, situated on the western side of town. Nanuet explains that Turner's hiding place was over on the eastern side of town, near the intersection of Mulberry Street and Harrison Avenue. Kate says, "There's not really any way of hiding us getting out of here; let's just do it quickly before the workers get here to unload that last car. We'll want to make sure we can see Turner anyway." Since there are doors on both sides of the freight train they open the one on the opposite side as the train depot and quickly climb down. </p><p></p><p>Kate got gratefully down and looked around the area. "Let's just go around the back of the train and walk like we belong there. It would take too long to walk around the front," she said and began leading the others toward the back and around. As they walk around to the front of the train they see Colin Turner and his entourage, comprised of Ruby, the man who had been seated beside him, plus the man and woman who he had taken control of when Nanuet was being questioned by the policeman. The man has the still unconscious Mina with him, carrying her with his arm around her. </p><p></p><p>Kate softly asks herself “Why did he bring those poor people with him?“ Colin and his followers walk past the third freight car that the party are near and proceed directly towards the fifth one that had contained the casket. Kate continued to walk, but more slowly, forcing the men to slow down with her. "We'll want to know what he does from here," she whispered. She stopped talking and looked like she was arguing with her companions, trying to appear oblivious to the group that had passed them. </p><p></p><p>They get to the freight car and one of the conductors arrives and opens the door. Kate and her companions are far enough away that they cannot hear the conversation that follows but it is obvious that a very angry Turner is not pleased that the casket is not inside. Two workmen arrive and Turner directs them into freight car. They exit carrying a wooden crate that is three feet long, eighteen inches high and eighteen inches wide. They are carrying it from a pair of side handles and it appears to be rather heavy. </p><p></p><p>Kate turned her head to hide her expression. "Please, please tell me that crate isn't a coffin the right size for a child. He must travel with some possessions," she finished. Gonzales says, "I don't know. I probably should have checked the manifest more closely. It does appear to be rather heavy" The workmen carrying the crate across the train platform and over to a waiting horse drawn wagon. "It had better just be dirt," Nanuet says with anger in his voice. "Either way, we have to destroy him so he can't hurt anyone anymore." </p><p></p><p>Kate says, "We're not going to be able to keep up. Why don't we watch and see which way the wagon goes, and if it's going in the right direction we can go to the house that Nanuet was at before." Kate looked around to see if there were any cabs near the station. This late at night, she did not expect any. "How large is the city?" Gonzales replies, "Around 40,000 people. The town is a major source for steel and iron manufacturing in the country." </p><p></p><p>They see that a series of cabs for hire are a short distance away. They notice that Mina is placed in back of the cart as well as the man and woman who had been charmed on the train. The two workmen sit in the front of the cart and it begins to ride off. Turner, Ruby and his other male companion turn around and walk in the direction of the cabs for hire. "I have money, let us go hire a cab," Kate said and took her teacher's arm. "We'll want to stay behind them a bit, or he could recognize Nanuet." </p><p></p><p>Gonzales replies, "Should somebody follow Mrs. Parker too?" Kate asks, "You think they might go to two different places? I figured they just wouldn't all fit in the wagon. I don't like the idea of splitting up. But if Nanuet follows Mrs. Parker he's less likely to be recognized." Gonzales replies, "I don't know, but there seemed to be enough room in that wagon for all of them." Kate reiterated, "I absolutely hate the idea of splitting up, but if we lose Mrs. Parker now we may never find her again. Nanuet, could Maska follow the wagon? You have the arrow, we need you near Turner." </p><p></p><p>Nanuet says, "Yes, I could send Maska after Mina and the wagon. We'd better hurry and get a cab before we lose them." Nanuet calls for Maska quietly and tells her to follow the wagon. He then heads with Kate and Manuel over to the cabs trying to stay out of site. The wagon heads off to the east heading towards one of the bridges in town across the river running through the center of it. Turner's male companion opens the door of the Hansom cab for Turner and Ruby. The cab heads off. Kate, Nanuet and Gonzales get a cab a few places back. </p><p></p><p>"Please follow that cab, sir," Kate said after the three were settled. "The master will be upset if we don't arrive in time to get his lady settled for the night," she said, acting as submissive as she could. The cab heads into the heart of downtown Scranton, stopping in front of the largest and most elaborate hotels on the main thoroughfare in town. They are nowhere near the place that Nanuet had been before, although he senses from Maska that that location is where the wagon with Mrs. Parker is going.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4086130, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Two-hundred-seventy-six, “Riding the Rails”, Wednesday, June 21st, 8:30 P.M.[/B] Once they are all onboard Manuel pulls the door shut to the car. He then casts a Bluelight spell, illuminating the car interior with a faint light that is bright enough for them to see each other but will not cast light though the cracks in the boards and around the door to the outside. Kate comments, "I don't know much about freight cars. Can we still get to the passenger cars?" Gonzalas stands up and walks over to the wall. He checks a clipboard that is hooked to the wall near the door and looks it over commenting "Hmm, all of the cargo in this car is bound for Philadelphia and is the middle of the five cars of this type. I'm assuming that Turner's casket is inside of one of these five green-painted cars, so the Scranton-bound goods must be in either one of the two cars ahead of us or one of the two behind us." Kate replies, "So we can at least accomplish something back here. I had been thinking of trying to create some problem with the train so you could get your rest. I have the telegram if we could find someone who works for the railroad. But I suppose there isn't a way to make the tea here." Gonzales replies, "I have my brazier and a water-skin, but even with the tea I doubt I would be able to rest on a moving freight train going through the Pennsylvania mountains." Kate says, "That's out then. Alright, let's search the cars and destroy Turner's resting place. I wish I knew if Turner's domination of Ruby would make her willing to rise as a vampire. It makes a huge difference. If it doesn't, then he'll want to wait until he's in a safe place before turning her since it would take her three days to come back. If it doesn't he could do it as soon as they're settled in Scranton. I would imagine dying would negate his control, but I can't be sure." Gonzales points to a wooden ladder on the side wall leading up to a trapdoor in the roof. He states, "Unfortunately that is the only exit from this car while it is moving, other than the door on the side where we entered. I wish I had my Spider Climb spell, that would work to cling onto the train, but I did not take it today. I do have one more Levitate, I used one earlier when we got Ruby, but if somebody uses that they would have to maintain a firm grip to the train or risk being left behind floating in the air." Kate says, “It's better than risking being thrown off the train altogether and making a hard landing on the ground. If Nanuet doesn't mind I'll take the levitate and check the two cars ahead of us. I don't think I can risk the fall; I'm sure you understand." Nanuet states, "Kate, I'm not sure if you're the best candidate to be climbing on the outside of moving train cars, no offense. I would rather go myself, but I won't insist if you are determined." She looked embarrassed and relieved at the same time. "The idea didn't excite me much either. I just want to pull my own weight. I'll be glad to stay here and rest a bit." Gonzales says, "I have an idea Kate, you can follow us up the ladder and watch from the top of this car in case we run into trouble. Nanuet and I can tether ourselves with ropes and I can keep the levitate in reserve until needed." The two elves take the lead and head topside, tying themselves together with ropes with the end ten feet on each going off and ending in a bowline knot that creates a loop that will not slip. They move forward hooking the first rope at the front of the current car. There is a five foot space between the tops of the two cars. They wait until the train reaches a straight section before attempting the leap across, Nanuet going first and Gonzales second. Both Elves are rather spry and make the leap without difficulty. The open the trapdoor and climb down, Gonzales checking the manifest and confirming that freight car's cargo is also Philadelphia bound. They repeat the process with the first of the five green freight cars, discovering the same. They then make their way back, filling Kate in on their efforts. Nanuet says, "Well, we know the coffins are in one of the last two cars, lets go and take care of that. And we should be on our guard, in case he's got someone guarding them." They find it easier to move back on the train then forward as the winds are in the favor of their jumping from car roof to car roof. The manifest on the fourth car shows the cargo designated to Allenstown, the scheduled stop between Scranton and Philadelphia. They head back to the final car. Even before checking the manifest and confirm that the cargo here is going to Scranton they see the long rectangular crate large enough to hold a casket inside of it. Nanuet says, “Looks like this is it. Figures it would be in the last car. We had better be careful, in case he has someone guarding it." Nanuet and Gonzales cautiously approach the crate. Nanuet hears no sounds coming from it. The wooden lid of the crate appears to be just placed atop it rather than nailed on. The younger elf comments, "That's odd, it's not nailed shut. We must be cautious, should there be something hiding." Nanuet approaches the crate slowly waiting for Gonzalez to do the same. He then pulls out a stake and gets in a spot along side the crate. He points to Gonzalez and motions for him to pull open the top of the crate. They remove the wooden pine lid to the crate. The underside of the lid has boards one inch from the edges to tightly keep it in place. Inside the crate is a nicely made casket identical to the one that was in the home of George Eastman's neighbor as well as the four that Father Harbrace and Nanuet had destroyed earlier in the week. In those earlier times Harbrace had taken the lead in the destruction of the creatures. "Well, we know this one is related to him, now," Gonzales says matter-of-factly. "Ready?" he said and got his fingers under the lid to lift it. Gonzales lifts the lid. Before the lid is completely up a hand reaches up from inside the coffin and grabs the old wizard by the wrist. Instead of trying to pull his hand free, Manuel drops, letting the lid fall hard on the arm that reached out and hoping it would cause the creature to let go. The creature maintains it's death grip on Gonzales's wrist, draining some of the life force from the old elvan wizard. His move to drop to the ground has the effect of hurling the creature up and out of the casket, pulled by the dropping man, and propelled by Nanuet before a stake can be applied but he sees enough to determine that it is not Colin Turner. As Manuel hits the ground the creature lands on top of him, continuing the life drain. "Stake it!" Manuel screams as he manages to cast Magic Missles into it's hands where they are gripping him. Once the missiles fire he struggles to free himself from the creatures grip. Nanuet exclaims, "He's much faster than I thought!” Nanuet repositions himself to a spot where he can stake the vampire and attempts to do so." Aided by the 'True Strike' spell cast upon him the stake reaches its intended target and the vampire explodes into a cloud of dust. Manuel sits up against some crates and nods his thanks to Nanuet. His breath comes hard and fast for a few moments. "That was my mistake," he admitted. "We could have destroyed that coffin by quite a few other, safer means. That creature did something to me, I'm afraid whatever travel we do from now on will have to be by mundane means." The old elf gets himself on his feet and says, "Let's destroy this thing and get back to Katherine. We should probably have a look through to make sure this is the only one as well. I didn't expect to find Turner's coffin occupied." They find that the coffin contains a few inches of dirt on the bottom of it. There are dozens of other crates and boxes within this particular freight car but none large enough to hold a coffin. "Let's push this thing over near the door," Manuel says after they've made sure this was the only coffin. "We can dump the soil along the roadway, then send the box after it." Nanuet helps Gonzalez with the disposal of the crate. By this time the train had left New York state and was entering the northeastern mountains of Pennsylvania. The begin to pour the dirt overboard and wait until the train is alongside a particularly steep cliffs to push the crate and casket out the door and down the mountain. It shatters into pieces on the way down. Gonzales feels a deep sense of satisfaction as the coffin disappears over the cliff. Gonzales is too weakened by the vampire to attempt to jump between train roofs, so has to use his final Levitate spell on himself and then tether himself to Nanuet. He and Nanuet then climb back up through the trap door and make their way back to Katherine, who is waiting with anxious eyes. They explain what happened in the last car and break the news that they will have to go home by train. Kate shook her head and said, "No, we'll go to Philadelphia. We know the Archbishop there; he'll be able to heal this." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm just thankful you're not in the state I was after Jobin did that to me." She sat down and leaned back. "I think we need to go back to our original plan. I'm sure we're all anxious to get Mrs. Parker back, but following them from the station is still the best plan we had. We shouldn't let our desires to finish this sooner lead us to more foolishness." The following two hours roll by, the three individuals and wolf resting as best they can on a bumpy railroad car through the mountains on a route parallel the Susquehanna River. At 11:00 PM the river turns from southeast to south towards Wilkes-Barre while the train turns right towards Scranton, now less than ten miles distant. Despite her worry and frustration, the need for rest was even greater and Kate spent most of the two hours asleep against her teacher's shoulder. He woke her around 11:00 with the warning that they were nearing Scranton. She yawned and stretched, surprised for a moment to see the unfamiliar hands and body of the disguise she still wore. "We should get ready, then. There's one thing I'm afraid of, and I should have thought of it earlier. What if Turner has a carriage waiting? We won't be able to follow unless there's a cab at the station." Gonzales replies, "Then we improvise." Kate nodded. "I guess that's about all we can do. At least if they notice us jumping out of the car we have tickets for the train. We just chose to ride somewhere unusual." Nanuet shakes out the stiffness of his body. Even needing less rest than humans, he was getting fatigued after chasing Turner across the country and now back again. "I believe this is the same spot where Father Harbrace and I were a few days ago. I know one of his previous hiding spots, which we destroyed. Since we were behind him he might not know it was tampered with and may head back that way." The train pulls into the station, situated on the western side of town. Nanuet explains that Turner's hiding place was over on the eastern side of town, near the intersection of Mulberry Street and Harrison Avenue. Kate says, "There's not really any way of hiding us getting out of here; let's just do it quickly before the workers get here to unload that last car. We'll want to make sure we can see Turner anyway." Since there are doors on both sides of the freight train they open the one on the opposite side as the train depot and quickly climb down. Kate got gratefully down and looked around the area. "Let's just go around the back of the train and walk like we belong there. It would take too long to walk around the front," she said and began leading the others toward the back and around. As they walk around to the front of the train they see Colin Turner and his entourage, comprised of Ruby, the man who had been seated beside him, plus the man and woman who he had taken control of when Nanuet was being questioned by the policeman. The man has the still unconscious Mina with him, carrying her with his arm around her. Kate softly asks herself “Why did he bring those poor people with him?“ Colin and his followers walk past the third freight car that the party are near and proceed directly towards the fifth one that had contained the casket. Kate continued to walk, but more slowly, forcing the men to slow down with her. "We'll want to know what he does from here," she whispered. She stopped talking and looked like she was arguing with her companions, trying to appear oblivious to the group that had passed them. They get to the freight car and one of the conductors arrives and opens the door. Kate and her companions are far enough away that they cannot hear the conversation that follows but it is obvious that a very angry Turner is not pleased that the casket is not inside. Two workmen arrive and Turner directs them into freight car. They exit carrying a wooden crate that is three feet long, eighteen inches high and eighteen inches wide. They are carrying it from a pair of side handles and it appears to be rather heavy. Kate turned her head to hide her expression. "Please, please tell me that crate isn't a coffin the right size for a child. He must travel with some possessions," she finished. Gonzales says, "I don't know. I probably should have checked the manifest more closely. It does appear to be rather heavy" The workmen carrying the crate across the train platform and over to a waiting horse drawn wagon. "It had better just be dirt," Nanuet says with anger in his voice. "Either way, we have to destroy him so he can't hurt anyone anymore." Kate says, "We're not going to be able to keep up. Why don't we watch and see which way the wagon goes, and if it's going in the right direction we can go to the house that Nanuet was at before." Kate looked around to see if there were any cabs near the station. This late at night, she did not expect any. "How large is the city?" Gonzales replies, "Around 40,000 people. The town is a major source for steel and iron manufacturing in the country." They see that a series of cabs for hire are a short distance away. They notice that Mina is placed in back of the cart as well as the man and woman who had been charmed on the train. The two workmen sit in the front of the cart and it begins to ride off. Turner, Ruby and his other male companion turn around and walk in the direction of the cabs for hire. "I have money, let us go hire a cab," Kate said and took her teacher's arm. "We'll want to stay behind them a bit, or he could recognize Nanuet." Gonzales replies, "Should somebody follow Mrs. Parker too?" Kate asks, "You think they might go to two different places? I figured they just wouldn't all fit in the wagon. I don't like the idea of splitting up. But if Nanuet follows Mrs. Parker he's less likely to be recognized." Gonzales replies, "I don't know, but there seemed to be enough room in that wagon for all of them." Kate reiterated, "I absolutely hate the idea of splitting up, but if we lose Mrs. Parker now we may never find her again. Nanuet, could Maska follow the wagon? You have the arrow, we need you near Turner." Nanuet says, "Yes, I could send Maska after Mina and the wagon. We'd better hurry and get a cab before we lose them." Nanuet calls for Maska quietly and tells her to follow the wagon. He then heads with Kate and Manuel over to the cabs trying to stay out of site. The wagon heads off to the east heading towards one of the bridges in town across the river running through the center of it. Turner's male companion opens the door of the Hansom cab for Turner and Ruby. The cab heads off. Kate, Nanuet and Gonzales get a cab a few places back. "Please follow that cab, sir," Kate said after the three were settled. "The master will be upset if we don't arrive in time to get his lady settled for the night," she said, acting as submissive as she could. The cab heads into the heart of downtown Scranton, stopping in front of the largest and most elaborate hotels on the main thoroughfare in town. They are nowhere near the place that Nanuet had been before, although he senses from Maska that that location is where the wagon with Mrs. Parker is going. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
"Ballots & Bullets" (TSR Module BH3) Concluded!
Top